Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Car Culture

If roads were designed for people instead of for cars, the issue of "distracted pedestrians" would not even exist. Photo: Duncan Harris

Whew! Sen. John Liu’s Bill to Criminalize Walking Is Likely DOA

By Julianne Cuba | May 20, 2019 | 38 Comments

An upstate lawmaker appears ready to stop a bill that no real New Yorker would ever have introduced — Queens Senator John Liu's absurd bill to empower the NYPD to write tickets to "distracted" pedestrians.

Scores of activists rallied at City Hall last month to argue that Mayor de Blasio has decelerated Vision Zero. Photo: Gersh Kuntzman

Cyclists Are Not the Enemy, Says a Widow Whose Husband Was Killed By a Cyclist

By Julianne Cuba | May 14, 2019 | 31 Comments

The death of a pedestrian was a devastating reminder for Hindy Schachter — but it also reinforced the idea that the real threat is a car culture that prioritizes speed and parking over safety.

State Sen. Jessica Ramos. Photo Konstantin Sergeyev for TransAlt

Meet State Senator Jessica Ramos — Fighting for Safety and Against de Blasio’s E-Bike Crackdown

By Jessie Singer/Transportation Alternatives | May 13, 2019 | 10 Comments

A new State Senator weighs in on e-bikes, car culture and improving transit. After all, this is "New York fucking City," she says.

Cars get protection during a 2019 rally on 78th Street to demand the city make good on its promise to fully pedestrianize the block. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Cars Get Police Protection at Rally for Full Travers Park Plan

By Gersh Kuntzman | May 12, 2019 | 10 Comments

Hundreds of Jackson Heights residents, and scores of children, angrily protested the continued use of 78th Street by a politically-connected car dealership that has halted plans for a long-promised block-long greenspace between 34th Avenue and deadly Northern Boulevard.

On Thursday night, DOT officials unveiled their plan to allow car-storers to continue to use the public right of way to block safety improvements. Board member Steve Harrison, who doesn't want to remove parking, is on the far right. Photo: Dave Colon

DOT to Bay Ridge: You Get Unsafe Bike Lanes Because We Don’t Want to Remove Parking

By Dave Colon | May 10, 2019 | 19 Comments

The DOT offers "murderstrips" instead of protected bike lanes — even though Bay Ridge residents are increasingly open to real safety improvements. How is this Vision Zero?

Safety First! De Blasio Overrules Manhattan Community Board For Amsterdam Ave. Fix

By Gersh Kuntzman | Apr 25, 2019 | 15 Comments

A victory for street safety activists as the mayor moves against a board that has resisted improvements.

Show More Stories